CHEMISTRY CLUB RECEIVES ACS OUTSTANDING AWARDLA GRANDE, Ore. (EOU) – The American Chemical Society has recognized Eastern Oregon University’s student chapter with an Outstanding Award for activities during the 2014-15 academic year.

Members of EOU’s chapter, informally known as the Chemistry Club, will travel to San Diego in March to receive the award at the 250th ACS National Meeting and Exposition.

EOU is among 55 student chapters across the U.S. and Puerto Rico, and the only school in Oregon, to receive this top honor.

The ACS Society Committee on Education selects student chapters for awards in three different classifications: outstanding, commendable and honorable mention. Awards for “green chapters” were also presented this year.

“This is such a great accomplishment, particularly, because we are at a smaller institution,” said Anna Cavinato, chemistry professor and club advisor.

“Our chapter continues to perform outstanding work and I am amazed at the level of commitment and hard work of our students. We are also very grateful to the ACS Richland Section for their continued support of our community outreach events including Girls in Science and Saturday Science, and for helping fund our trip to the national meeting.”

Among the club’s many noteworthy activities are outreach events to K-12 students, member participation at the national ACS meetings where students present research posters and engage in networking opportunities, and campus involvement.

More information on EOU’s Chemistry Club and related programs can be found at www.eou.edu/chem/club. Reservation. (Laura Hancock)

FALL 2015

PLEASE VOTE ONLINE YOUR PARTICIPATION IS

APPRECIATED!

BALLOTS DUE NOVEMBER12th

IT’S ELECTION TIME!

2016 SECTION ELECTION VOTING INSTRUCTIONSThis year’s election for officers of our local ACS chapter will be primarily conducted online. The ballot will be sent to the email address you provided to the national ACS organization. You will receive an e-mail with a link to a survey hosted at SurveyMoz.com. Simply follow the link to see the ballot where you can vote for each position. The voting process is very straightforward and will take about one minute. Note that the ballot does have the option for write-in candidates.

For those members who do not have an e-mail address registered, we will mail paper ballots with the 2015 fall newsletter. The candidate biographies are provided in this newsletter. Ballots will be sent out on Oct 27th 2015; votes must be received by Nov 12th 2015.

PRESENTING THE 2016 SLATE OF CANDIDATES

Vanda Glezakou is a Senior Researcher at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory since 2004. She obtained her BSc in Chemistry from the National Kapodistrian University of Athens Greece and her PhD in Theoretical Physical Chemistry from Iowa State University. Prior to working at PNNL, she did post-doctoral research at the

University of California San Diego/San Diego Super Computer Center, followed by an appointment as a staff scientist at CalTech. Her work at the time focused on the computational studies of transition metal compounds, energetic materials, spectroscopy and reaction dynamics as applied in the areas of materials chemistry and catalysis. Current research activities include density functional based molecular dynamics examining reactivity in CO2 environments, allowing for realistic approximation of extended systems and reactive processes. Her approach combines an array of computational techniques that provide insights regarding reaction mechanisms, free-energy landscapes, and spectroscopic characterization of chemical phenomena related to carbon sequestration and related geochemical change, as well as remediation of nuclear waste. Vanda has been an ACS member since 1994 and has organized several ACS symposia. Through this election, she looks forward to serving the Richland chapter by strengthening interactions between local and national groups of the American Chemical Society.

CHAIR-ELECT Vanda Glezakou

PLEASE VOTE ONLINE YOUR PARTICIPATION IS APPRECIATED!

BALLOTS DUE NOVEMBER12th

Dev received his Ph.D. in Chemistry from University of Cincinnati in 2009, and has been in Pacific Northwest National Laboratory ever since, initially as a post-doctoral researcher, and then as a research scientist. He is a member of the Nuclear Chemistry and Engineering group of the

Energy and Environment Directorate. His research involves understanding the speciation and migration of various radionuclides in the nuclear waste tanks at Hanford, as well as detection and removal of various contaminants from the environment. While at Cincinnati, as a member of the Younger Chemist Committee and the local section of the ACS, Dev was actively involved in various outreach activities involving students from local middle and high schools. He is looking forward to continuing these outreach activities and promoting chemistry and chemical education through partnerships between the Richland section of the ACS, PNNL and the local schools and community.

CHAIR-ELECT Dev Chatterjee

Anna Cavinato is a Professor of Chemistry at Eastern Oregon University, La Grande, OR. She has been teaching chemistry and science courses for non-science majors at Eastern since 1992. She received a Ph.D. in Analytical Chemistry from the University of Bari, Italy in 1981. Prior to joining Eastern

Oregon University in 1992, she was a research professor at the Center for Process Analytical Chemistry at the University of Washington (1988-1992) and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Memphis (1986-1988). She also received postdoctoral training at Oak Ridge National Laboratories (1983-1984) and the University of Tennessee Medical School in Memphis (1984-1986) working in the area of protein purification and electrochemistry. Her current research interests include the development of non-invasive methods of analysis, nanobiosensors, optical spectroscopy and multicomponent analysis.

Anna has been an active member of the American Chemical Society since 1986. She served as Chair of the Richland Section in 1999 and has been Chair of the Diversity Committee since 2000. Anna has been instrumental in the

development and implementation of “Girls in Science”, an outreach program for young women in grades 6-8th. Under her leadership the Diversity Committee has been very active in promoting science to women and underrepresented groups and has earned the Richland Section multiple ChemLuminary awards for the past ten years. Anna is the advisor for the EOU Students Member Chapter (Chem Club) which continues to distinguish itself as one of the outstanding chapters in the nation. She is currently the Chair of the Project SEED Committee and the secretary of the Division of Analytical Chemistry.

I look forward to continuing devoting my energy in helping the Richland Section increase its visibility and improve services that benefit all members. As alternate councilor I will work with the ACS governance to achieve these goals. Being an educator at a small undergraduate institution in rural Oregon, I highly value the opportunity to continue my involvement with the Section and work towards strengthening the Section’s efforts to promote science education at all levels and reach out to a diverse membership, particularly younger people.

ALTERNATE COUNCILOR Anna Cavinato

PRESENTING THE 2016 SLATE OF CANDIDATES

I am running for reelection as ACS section secretary. I have worked as a chemist for 40 years, and have been an ACS member continuously for the last 22 years I have worked as a chemist and as a manager at the 222-s laboratory on the Hanford site for the last 21 years. I have greatly enjoyed

participating in the board of the section and helping to run events that benefit the members and advance the understanding of chemistry with the public. Of particular enjoyment has been getting to know other chemists in the section and building friendships. My husband John, who is also a chemist and I have greatly enjoyed raising our four children in Richland, and are fortunate to enjoy our six grandchildren here as well. I would be grateful for the opportunity to continue to serve the section as secretary.

SECRETARY Jann FryeSandy is a Richland native. She graduated from Washington State University in 1981 with a BS in Chemistry. She started her career at Lawrence Livermore (National) Laboratory (Livermore, CA) as an analytical chemist (primarily in the Plutonium Facility). In 1990 she started working at

Battelle Pacific Northwest (National) Laboratory as a Senior Research Scientist in radio-analytical chemistry. Sandy’s experience at PNNL evolved into many projects including cesium ion exchange and sludge leach testing, K Basin and tank waste sludge characterization, tank waste simulant development, and later, experience in project management.

Sandy has worked with the local section for about 5 years. She is currently the local section treasurer. She has also supported the section as the newsletter editor and public relations co-chair (2011-2013). Sandy also volunteers her time to several student outreach activities and was awarded the 2014 ACS Richland Section Outreach Volunteer of the Year. Sandy would be delighted to again bring her talents in service to the local ACS section as treasurer thus contributing to the overall success of the organization.

TREASURER Sandy Fiskum

Ram Devanathan, Chair-Elect of the Richland Section, attended the ACS Leadership Institute in Dallas, Texas during January 23-25, 2015. This meeting provided an excellent opportunity to network with leaders from sections in Oregon and Washington to learn from best practices. Ram attended sessions at the Institute focused on planning successful activities, communicating with members, and mastering social media. Ram was able to spend quite some time in discussions with Donna Nelson (President Elect), Paul Jagodzinski (Board member) and Kathleen Schulz (Board member) during the Town Hall meeting on the last day. This was an excellent networking opportunity that came with valuable training exercises and face time with ACS national leadership.

LEADERSHIP CONFERENCEReport from the ACS Leadership Institute

The Richland section of the American Chemical Society hosted a webinar on “Tales of Lab Safety: How to Avoid Rookie Accidents” on October 20, 2015. This program emphasized the learning curve for safety awareness and the need for a strong chemical safety culture. The tragic accident at the University of California Los Angeles in 2008 that led to the death of researcher Sheharbano (Sheri) Sangji while transferring a pyrophoric chemical was discussed in detail.

Common themes from recent notable chemistry lab incidents were presented. Key takeaways from the discussion are: 1. Scaling up a known process by making a larger batch of the same chemicals can be deadly; 2. Using personal protective equipment is absolutely essential; and 3. Lab workers need to know by instinct where the safety shower is located and how to use it. A video presentation from this event is available at https://youtu.be/DGUYpjVh7Z0.

PROGRAM IN A BOXTales of Lab Safety Webinar

JOINT PICNIC A SUCCESSChemists & Chemical Engineers Unite!The Richland ACS and American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) local sections held their annual joint picnic on Wednesday July 29 at an AIChE member’s house off Tanglewood Drive overlooking the Yakima River. Over forty people attended, with roughly half from the ACS and AIChE organizations. Attendees mingled and were treated to good food, cold drinks and volleyball while enjoying the wonderful sunset views overlooking the Yakima River.

CAREER FAIR

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VISIT THE SECTION WEBSITE FOR UP-TO-DATE CALENDAR ITEMS

& MORE INFORMATION

http://acs.labworks.org

UPCOMING EVENTSOCTOBER 27 - BALLOTS TO BE MAILEDNOVEMBER 12 - VOTING & MAIL-IN BALLOT DEADLINE

OCTOBER 29 - WSU WINE SCIENCE CENTER TOUR359 University Drive, Richland, WA; 5:30 p.m. Space is limited, to register contact Jo Marie Johnson, jo_m_johnson@rl.gov, or (509) 372-9474

NOVEMBER 7 - SATURDAY SCIENCE Ontario, OR; Event focus on National Chemistry theme “Chemistry Colors Our World - Exploring the chemistry of dyes, pigments, and light”; Contact Anna Cavinato, acavinat@eou.edu

NOVEMBER 13 - ANNUAL SOCIAL & YEAR END PARTY Battelle Auditorium, Battelle Blvd, Richland, WA; 6:00 pmWe will be honoring our 50-year members: Late Lane Bray, Dr. Larry Gene Morgan, Dr. Rod Quinn, Mr Nova Strode, and our 60-year members: Mr R. Norman Diebel, Dr Jean Futrell. We will also honor other awardees for this year: Volunteer of the Year, Science Fair winners. Students from Eastern Oregon University, Columbia Basin College, and the Mid-Columbia Science Fair will present posters. Light refreshments will be served. Our keynote speaker will be Dr. Jeffrey Dense, Professor of Political Science and Craft Beer Studies from Eastern Oregon University. His presentation will be titled “Beer Can Save Us: The Political Economy of the Craft Beer Industry”

NOVEMBER 20 - NW REGIONAL INDUSTRY CAREER FAIRThornton Courtyard & Fish Fountain Area Lobby at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, WA; Friday 5:00-7:30 pm

The Richland Section of the American Chemical Society (ACS), is hosting its first Northwest Regional Industry Career Fair on Friday, November 20, 2015 from 5:00-7:30 pm at Columbia Basin College in Pasco, WA. This event is to showcase career opportunities and to aid recruitment of our members and students in the region into open positions throughout the Pacific Northwest. Our event will be held for the benefit of the 500+ ACS members and will also be extended to other local professional organizations such as the Richland section of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), and the Society of Women Engineers. The event will also focus on the recruitment of high school seniors, collegiate and postdoctoral research associates in chemistry from the Columbia Basin/Eastern Washington regions. Additionally our goal is to provide a venue to encourage students to enroll in Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) programs and careers. We are looking for ACS volunteers for help with resume building and mock interview stations.

Detailed information can be found on our ACS’s local section’s website (acs.labworks.org). We look forward to seeing you at the career fair!

The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR) Department of Science & Engineering is looking for two chemist positions titled Scientist 2 and Technician 4.

For the Technician 4 position, we are looking for an individual with several years of experience working at an environmental laboratory doing sample prep (preferably methods 3010, 3051, 3052, 3060, 3510, 3540, and 3546). Any ICP-OES, GC-MS, or UV-Vis spectrophotometer experience would be a plus, but for this position we really need a bench chemist who excels at wet chemistry.

For the Scientist 2 position, we are looking for an individual who has many years of experience working in an environmental laboratory. Although we are not currently ORELAP accredited, we plan to be. This person would therefore need to meet NELAP lab manager requirements and help us obtain the accreditation for organic and inorganic analyses of Hanford River Corridor contaminants.

Please distribute this message to any and all who might be interested. We might be able to staff these positions part-time (3 to 4 days per week) in Pendleton and the remaining time in the Tri-Cities (Kennewick, Richland, Pasco).

Contact information:

Patrick Mills, Scientist 1Department of Science & EngineeringConfederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian ReservationOffice: (541) 429-7763Mobile: (541) 969-4072Email: PatrickMills@ctuir.orgMailing: 46411 Timine Way, Pendleton, OR 97801

CTUIR JOB POSTING